good morning. critical time. insider attacks on the rise in afghanistan, even as more american troops leave the country. protests against that anti-islamic movie in the muslim world. this morning an actress who appeared in that film speaks out, and we'll have a live interview with former british prime minister tony blair. roughing the ref. new england patriots head coach bill belichick grabs an official after his team's loss on a controversial last-second field goal, a move that could land him in big trouble. and stars and surprises. "homeland" and "modern family" wins big at the history and "mad

men" makes history with 17 nominations and no awards. a snub that has fans mad today, sunday, september 24th, 2012. nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lawer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. i know you watched the emmys mostly for the fashion, but were you rooting for any particular show? >> i missed most of the emmys, i have to be honest. i know you're happeny. >> love "downton abbey" and "mad men," one of the fans, kind of got shut out. >> more on the emmys coming up. also a live report from lester holt in kabul, afghanistan, on an increasingly tense situation for american troops there, and as we said, we'll talk to former british prime minister tony blair.

it's nice to have him in the studio. >> also, as we all know, you can waste a lot of time on the internet, but every now and then something really grabsur attention and tugs at your heart strings. this love story follows two high school sweet hearts through the highs and lows of their relationship and peel all around the world are taking notice and this morning that couple is with us for an exclusive live interview. >> i saw it online, incredibly, incredibly poignant. look forward to talking to them. and take a look at that machine. filled with your questions. submit them online, facebook or twitter. >> i can't get over the game show music. the catch is we have no idea what's written on those pieces of paper. those are your questions. coming up we'll step in, grab a few and hopefully not be totally mortified by what you want to know to us. >> let's begin with a check of this morning's top stories. natalie is over at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. with just a week until the

presidential debate, the candidates are taking fresh jabs this morning on the campaign trail. nbc's peter alexander has more from the battleground state of colorado. good morning to you, peter. >> reporter: natalie, good morning to you. that first debate is actually here in denver, just nine days away, but coming off one of the roughest couple of weeks, mitt romney's campaign is focused on jump starting the defense and economic message with many republicans pressing him to sharpen his tone. looking to restore confidence in his campaign, a defiantly optimistic mitt romney rallied supporters under the lights in denver late sunday >> i need your help. we have got to stand together. we have got to work together. we're taking back america. we must keep this nation the hope of the earth. >> reporter: earlier romney refused to concede he's an underdog in a series of battleground states and accused the president of distorting his positions. >> i'm did not going to try to

fool people into making people think things he doesn't. he's trying to fool people to make them believe i think things that i don't. >> reporter: privately romney and the president have been preparing for the debates, the first here in denver next week, but publicly the two campaigns are trying to lower expectations, even complimenting their opponent's debate skills. for his part on "60 minutes" president obama defended his record, while acknowledging he's failed to deliver one of his biggest promises. >> if you ask me what's my biggest disappointment is that we haven't changed the tone in washington as much as i liked. >> reporter: meanwhile, as romney faced criticism he spent more time fund-raising than speaking to voters he'll pick up the pace this week on a bus ture from colorado to the crucial state of ohio and romney is packing in several interviews with local television affiliates in key battleground states including virginia, wisconsin and florida, but when the romney campaign, natalie, begins its

bus tour in ohio, today they will be met by a new attack ad. this is from the obama campaign. that new ad is the first one to use romney's comments that were caught on hidden camera where he refers to some americans as victims and government dependant. the ad will accuse him of criticizing americans who don't pay their income taxes when he hasn't, quote, come clean about his own. natalie. >> all right. peter alexander in denver, colorado. thanks so much, peter. zoo officials are investigating the sudden death of a newborn panda cub in washington, d.c. the week-old cub had been a happy surprise at the national zoo. its mother had suffered five failed pregnancies in the past. officials say there were no obvious external injuries or signs of infection, but a necropsy should know more today. the nfl is asking coaches to respect the referees during the

lockout. bill belichick may have ignored that last night and may face a fine from the league but he doesn't expect he'll have to pay up. we'll see about that. a winning streak went uninterrupted at the emmy awards as "modern family" took home best drama. and "homeland" also won and a strange record for critically acclaimed " a mad men," the show with an unprecedented 17 nominations and zero wins. we'll have much more, of course, coming up in a live report and a look at fashion which we always look forward to. >> thank you. >> mr. roker, busy weekend. >> kind of the susan lucci of drama. >> didn't she finally win? >> she did win a lot. >> they win every year. >> let's show you what's going on. for today, some chilly weather to talk about. warmer than normal out west, a trough and dip in the cold front

brings chilly air to the great lakes. look at these temperatures. we're not talking records, but we are looking at frost and freeze warnings right from the upper great lakes all the way into northern new england. temperatures are anywhere from five to ten degrees below normal for highs today. out west it's just the up anywe from 10 to 15 degrees above normal. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> right here this morning, under a partly cloudy sky, temperatures are starting out a few degrees below average. storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson here. you can see montgomery county, 45 to 48. loudon county, 47 to 50. prince georges county, 49 to 51 degrees with 58 in d.c. high today of 70, under sunshine. a few clouds tomorrow, and that's your latest weather. >> thank you.

the war in afghanistan is about to enter its 12th year, and while the drawdown of u.s. troops is making headlines, so is the dramatic rise in so-called insider attacks. nbc's lester holt is in kabul this morning where he talked to the top commander of the u.s. and coalition troops there. lester, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. this is a critical juncture in this war. there are 33,000 fewer u.s. troops here now that the surge is over, and as the u.s. hands over more and more combat operations to afghan forces, these infiltrators who are carrying out insider attacks are raising lots of questions about the future of the question, questions i put to general john allen in an exclusive interview this morning. >> the nature of this campaign is not ultimately for us to defeat the taliban. the nature of this campaign is for us to give the afghan national security forces the wherewithal ultimately to create security in this country so that governance can take root, rule of law embraced and economic

development and opportunity can move forward. >> reporter: you are at a critical moment, and yet, as you know, this has been a horrible year for insider attacks. the very people that you're training to take over this mission are in some cases turning their weapons against american and other coalition forces. can that go on, and how do you prevent that from undermining your mission? >> this has my full attention. we're going to work as hard as we possibly can, around the clock, to understand the problem, and i think we've got a good grip on it now and to work very closely with our afghan partners to eliminate this threat. the taliban in infiltrating the ranks of the ansf recognize that this is an opportunity for them to try to split us apart. we're going to work very hard to prevent that from happening. >> if a soldier had to sleep with one eye open because he's afraid someone is going to shoot him in the middle. night, doesn't that undermine the whole cohesion of a unit of a military? >> it does. we've got to work very hard to eliminate that threat. to understand the threat and to

eliminate that threat. the taliban seek to infiltrate the ansf, the afghan national security forces. we know that, and we know we'll see that manifest itself as an infiltration, impersonation or someone who is coerced or even someone who is potentially in the ranks but is susceptible to the taliban propaganda, the taliban narrative. >> reporter: general, i think a lot of military families will be listening very carefully to your answer to my next question, and that is you will soon make recommendations to the president about troop levels going forward, 2013, 2014. do you expect to bring more troops home in the coming year? >> probably, yes, and the -- the nature of the recommendation will be sometime before the end of this calendar year. i'll evaluate the nature of the insurgency. i'll evaluate the progress that we have made with the afghan national security forces. we'll look at the operational environment we think we'll face

in 2013, and the combination of all of those will permit me to make a recommendation. >> are you prepared to give us a hint as to how far you may drop the level? >> not really. we really need to look at how far the afghans have come this year. >> reporter: would you expect the u.s. combat forces, only in a spilborghs forces role to continue past 2014? >> the intent is our relationship will be a training and advising relationship. the war for all intents and purposes ends on december 31, 2014. >> reporter: general allen admits they were caught off guard by the sophistication of a taliban attack against a base here a couple of weeks ago that killed two u.s. marines and destroyed six fighter jets. he says the taliban will likely carry out attacks after the u.s. withdrawal, but he has great confidence in the ability of the newly trained afghan forces, savannah, to rappel any further attacks. >> lester, more of your reporting throughout the week

from afghanistan on aid today and on "nbc nightly news." thank you. former british prime minister tony blair joins us exclusively. good to see you. great to have you here. >> thanks, matt. >> lester holt was reporting the insider attacks on the rise in afghanistan, the fear that we may leave behind a situation a lot less secure than we anticipated. does it give us a hint of what's to come after a dozen years of fighting? could we say chaos return to afghanistan? >> well, it describes the challenge, for sure. first of all, if i may, i'd like to pay tribute though to your armed forces, to the service men and women who serve in afghanistan and to give my deep sympathy to the families of those who have lost their loved ones. we know what it's like from our side had britain as well. we've lost over 400 soldiers in the course of the campaign in afghanistan. and, look, it's very difficult when people see these insider attacks. they say, well, is it all worth it? i think we have to go back 11

years to realize why it is we were in afghanistan, to realize we actually have made our country safer as a result of this, but to understand that it's going it be an ongoing and difficult struggle. it's true that there are those who are insiders who are committing these crimes, but it's also true there are afghan forces doing the job they should be doing. >> i hate to put it on a scale of 1 to 10 question, a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the taliban is back in power after we leave and 1 being it's not going to happen, where is it? >> i don't believe they will come back in power. i think that we shouldn't underestimate the degree to which, for example, your surge, where you put some 30,000 troops into kandahar and helmand which are the most difficult provinces, actually they have had an impact. you know, what we're engaged in in afghanistan is a struggle in which there will be people that will carry on trying to do their very worst to disrupt the progress that have country, but it's important to understand that there are also afghans fighting on our side. >> let me ask you about things,

the images we've seen around the world, the middle east, the horn of africa over the last couple of weeks, protests against the united states. what is behind what seems to be this new wave of anti-americanism, in your opinion? >> well, i think, you know, if i can say one thi about america and the way it's viewed in this part of the world. i've just come back from my 88th visit to the middle east since leaving office. if i were you in america, i would not worry about being loved. that's not your role in the world, right? your role is to be strong and you are strong. what you have to understand in these circumstances there's two groups struggling for what's going on in the world. you have anti-american protesters burning the flag, saying terrible things and killing american people and you also have in libya, for example, after the tragic death of your ambassador there, thousands of people coming out protesting against the killers and demanding action taken against them so, you know, in the end, you've got to see this as a long struggle in which we've got to be on the side of the decent

people, and there are decent people out there. >> but we do worry what the result of the arab spring has been. mohamed morsi, the new president of egypt, gave an interview in advance of him coming to new york this week, and he said this. by backing dictatorial governments in the past, the quote, successive american administrations essentially purchased with american taxpayer money the dislike, if not the hatred, of the peoples of the region. how do you feel about that? >> well, i feel about that that, you know, there are actually most of the governments of the world dealt with, for example, president mubarak in egypt and by the way for perfectly sensible reasons, my government did as well. look, again, what you will find in all of these countries is they have thrown off a lot of these repressive dictatorships, but they are now having to learn that democracy isn't about just a way of voting, it's a way of thinking, you know, and if they want to make progress, we've got to help them but also challenge them to realize that the test of a democracy is not just how the majority win but how they then treat the minority, how they treat, for example, people of

different religious faiths to their own >> i want to just end on a question that's near and dear to your heart. you're here for climate week as well. we've had a crazy week, year in this country of extreme weather. are you seeing around the world the kind of motivation and will that's necessary to, a, admit that there's a problem and then address the problem? >> well, not enough frankly. i mean, i think we've go the to be very clear about this. i know we've got all these economic problems to deal with, but this climate issue is real, and we are very responsible for future generations if we don't deal with it and we should rover a sense of urgency about it >> i hope we will. former british prime minister tony blair, always nice to have you in new york. >> thank you. >> nice when you stop by. >> thank you. >> 16 after the hour. here's savannah. now what could be a major breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer. scientists have mapped all the genetic mutations in an effort to lead to more effective treatments. dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you. >> good morning.

>> the catalog identified the mutations in common cancers. what is the bottom line and why does this matter? >> four basic kinds of cancers and they dug deeper and found genetic switches that make cancers worse than others, linked one to ovarian cancer and that could change treatment. underscoring all of this, it took thousands of scientists with 800 women volunteering to give up their tissue, and they shared information. it shows you just can't throw money at things, can't hide in your own little laboratory. unless we share information we won't get breakthroughs. so increasingly your breast tumor, my breast tumor may look the same on an x-ray but genetically they may be very, very different. the sooner we can understand, the sooner we can tailor treatment for me, treatment for you. >> one of the breast cancer tumors shared more similarities with ovarian cancer, us a mentioned. >> yeah. >> does this mean it may be the place where you find the tumor isn't as important as where its

origins are, the genetic origins. >> maybe beyond that. okay. what's the common switch that turns on a tumor, and are there drugs that we're used to go treat lung or ovarian cancer that might be useful for breast cancer? some of the treatments that we know that really knock women off their feet, maybe they are going to be increasingly obsolete. one of the authors said this is like getting someone to the moon. i think it's a better rocket. we haven't gone to the moon yet. you get to say that when we cure breast cancer, but it's a huge step forward. >> doing the study perhaps is the moon shot. dr. nancy snyderman, thank you so much. >> thanks, savannah. >> 18 minutes after the hour and here once again is matt. the 64th primetime emmys were handed out last night. nbc's kristen dahlgren is in los angeles with the highlights, including one show that made history by not winning a single award. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. yeah. things have wrapped up now here at the nokia theater, but i imagine some celebrating is still going on somewhere in hollywood at this hour, but probably not by the cast of "mad men." that show was totally snubbed as a new drama was crowned king.

just like a good drama, this year's emmys had twists. >> and the emmy goes to "homeland." >> reporter: surprise winner derailing "mad men" which had won best drama the postfour years. >> half the government is going to be in one spot and we've got a terrorist on the loose. >> this is the biggest night of my career. >> reporter: "homeland" also won for outstanding writer and star claire danes won best actress for her role on the show that even president obama says is one of his favorites. >> we're still stupeified by that fact that he's tuning in consistently. >> reporter: "homeland" clean sweep included damian lewis winning top honors for his top role stopping "breaking bad's" bryan cranston from a fourth straight emmy and sending the "mad men" star home empty handed. jon cryer won for travelmen and

no surprise when the top prize for outstanding comedy went to "modern family." eric stonestreet brought home a best supporting actress. >> sofia, a gracious wonderful woman and the reason why i'm like even able to wear a curvy fishtail dress so i owe her a lot. >> reporter: also a big night for "game change," the hbo production awarded outstanding miniseries, outstanding writing. >> i've been dying to talk to the press. >> reporter: and julianne moore best actress in a miniseries for her portrayal of sarah palin. >> i feel so validated because i got a big thumbs down from sarah palin. >> reporter: julia louis-dreyfus won for her role on "veep." >> people say this is a comedy yet i don't see anything fun be me being president of the united states. >> reporter: and host jimmy kimmel won mixed reviews for his

host i hosting abilities with josh grosgain singing a living tribute to the host. >> i will be missed. >> reporter: jury is still out on whether or not he'll be missed, whether he'll be asked back for another year. one thing is certain though, matt. next year "homeland" is going to be the show to beat. >> kristen dahlgren on the emmys this morning. kristen, thanks very much. still ahead, more on the emmys, including ryan seacrest with the glitz and glamour on display on the red carpet. but, first, this is "today" on nbc.

. just ahead, a couple's moving love story told in 22 pictures online. we'll meet them. >> after your local news. i'm jessica and this is my emergen-c.

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good morning. it's 7:26 now on this monday, september 24th. we have a few slow spots on the roads. >> here's the situation, if you're traveling westbound route 50, arlington boulevard, crash blocking two left lanes. sluggish 50 in. maryland slow from the beltway as you make your way to new york avenue. your travel speed, about 31 miles per hour. that drive taking 11 minutes. >> we'll get a check on your forecast after a quick break.

with a few scattered showers, temperatures are starting out from the mid-40s to the mid-50s. huge range in temperatures throughout the area. camp springs at 49 degrees. fairfax at 48. kensington at 47 degrees. it's 45 in wharington. high today, 70.

a lot of sunshine. tomorrow, mostly sunny, the high 76. wednesday, warmest day. rain coming in late. probably a bigger storm this weekend. aaron. >> thank you, ve

♪ >> cue up the '70s game show music. 7:30 on this monday morning, the 24th day of september. we're living history because our "ask away today" machine is filled with questions that you sent us. we'll choose some of them at random. we do not know what the questions are. may not know what the answers are, but we'll do our little bit best. >> aren't those machines usually filled with dollar bills or something like that. >> slightly less exciting. we'll grab some questions and do our best. >> and see how it goes. >> i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer. >> and some of our favorite

olympians? >> coming up, misty may will join us to share a very big announ announcement, one that i think will surprise a lot of people t.surprised me. >> me, too. >> and take a look at this photo montage, images sharing a touching story of love, inspiration and survival. we'll talk to that couple in just a few minutes. we want to begin this half hour with a film that sparked anti-american protests in the muslim world. first nbc's mike taibbi has details. good morning to you. >> reporter: actor cindy lee garcia's lawyer also went to court to try to get youtube and its parent company google to take down the 14-minute video. a california judge said no citing federal internet laws, and in practical terms any video that's gone viral is all over

the internet. this one did with disastrous consequences that aren't over yet. cindy lee garcia is just one of several dozen actors and extras who in the summer of 2011 trooped to a shopping mall east of los angeles. they were going to make a movie they say was called "desert warrior." >> based on an adventure film in the desert 2,000 years ago, and during the time i was being filmed in my part there was nothing mentioned about muhammad. >> reporter: last week garcia sued the man she named as the film's producer, nakoula bassely nakoula for fraud and intent of emotional distress. >> do you have any regrets about producing the film? >> reporter: after leaving his home to voluntarily speak to police nakoula went into hiding and was not served with a complaint and garcia requested google and youtube take down the video because of what she calls

cred ubl death threats that have put her life into serious danger but was denied by a judge citing internet laws. >> under federal law youtube is a service provider which is immune from liability if it is not providing the couldn't tent that is uploaded on to the site. >> reporter: google did not respond to our request for comment, but garcia's attorney says her complaint will be re-filed before a different judge. how will a public lawsuit and garcia's public statements impact her safety? >> she has in fact made herself much more of a public figure indeed, potentially much more of a target in all senses of the world. >> reporter: now an attorney for four of the other actors told nbc news last night that they plan to file their own lawsuit this week but not against google. it's a suit alleging fraud and infliction of emotional distress against nakoula or anyone else they could name who knew what the video was intended to be. >> mike taibbi, thank you.

cindy lee garcia is here with us exclusively along with her attorney. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> cindy, i know you're very concerned about your safety. you've received death threats. is that still continuing? >> yes, it is. >> what kind of safety precautions are you taking? >> right now i'm just, you know, very cautious of my surroundings, and i've taken all my information away from the public. >> are you worried that by coming forward in this public way you'll make yourself more recognizable? >> i'm coming forward to clear my name. i was duped. i went in to do this film called "desert warrior." muhammad was never mentioned, muslims were never mentioned. >> you thought it was an movie about what? >> an adventure film in the desert 2,000 years ago about the way life was back then. >> when you saw the finished product and you say that another voice was dubbed over with these offensive remarks, what was your reaction? >> when i first saw the trailer,

i saw all these things in the trail their were not filmed when i was on the set, so i was confused, and then when i saw myself on there, i knew that it was the actual film but there were other words put in my mouth. i was devastated. >> to be clear, this does not reflect your views of the muslim faith. >> absolutely not. i would not do that. >> some people would wonder how it is that you could be an actor in a film and not know what the film was about. >> when i received on set they gave me three or four pages, two for the first day, two for the second day and i asked him why. they said they in the process of getting them together. >> did you sign any agreement that would have permitted the film-makers to take these liberties to dub over your voice? >> no, no, i read the contract. >> you met this producer, known to you as sam bacile, apparently also known as nakoula bassely nakoula. did anything about him set off alarm bells about you? >> no. actually he seemed very polite. he was very boastful about the fact that he had written the

script that i had that's totally different on the -- >> did he give any indication about the views he apparently holds about the muslim faith? >> no. no one spoke of the muslim faith, no one spoke of muhammad, nor would i ever do that. >> let me talk to your lawyer. you've filed a lawsuit against youtube for basically putting this on the internet as well as the producers. the lawsuit does not appear to have a great chance of success because of a federal law. it basically immunizes these third-party providers. do you continue to -- do you plan to continue to press this suit? >> no, i think that's correct. i think congress has passed a law that does in fact have a very good chance of immunizing google and youtube, but i think we should be very clear that google and youtube are doing the wrong thing. in fact, they say in their own terms and guidelines that hate speech is not allowed. how can this not be hate speech? how can this not be wrong, morally, intellectually, legally, and so today we will

dismiss the state court lawsuit, but we're going to file again today in federal court. >> because you think you have a copyright claim? >> absolutely. my client has a copyright claim and we intend to enforce it. >> thank you both for being here. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> now let's get a check of the wet we are al. >> good morning, folks. a beautiful fall morning here. all this folks hanging in from little rock. let's go to the weather wall to show you what we've got. we're looking at the week ahead. temperatures below normal here in the northeast. very, very fall-like. above normal as you make your way into the plains in texas. mid-week period we'll see temperatures warm up in the southeast, gulf coast. look for warm weather also up to the west. showers in the northeast, and then the latter part of the week, we expect normal conditions in the east as far as temperatures. it will be wet from the ohio river valley back down into mid. showers in the pacific northwest where it should be warmer than usual. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> through the week, we will be

warming up as well. 58, your temperature. also at 58 degrees, tacoma park and trinidad. temperatures up to the north up in montgomery county,s s aaspe hill. it's 46 around laplata and cullpupper. 75 degrees today under sunshine. cloudsill be departing. a don't forget. always check that weather. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> ryan seacrest breaks down the emmy fashion and this couple's touching story that is tugging at hearts all around the world that. after this.

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and, frontline plus works non-stop for thirty days. no wonder it's the number one choice of vets for their pets and yours. ask your vet about frontline plus. accept nothing less. back at 7:41. every once in a while you see something on the internet that stops you in your tracks. for millions of people, one of those moments came recently with 22 images of a couple whose love has survived against all odds. we're going to talk to them in a moment, but first their story. if one picture is worth a thousand words, taylor morris and danielle kelly have enough words to last a lifetime. among them courage, honor and devotion. their story found a home on the

internet, often ridiculed for being mean and cynical, and where every day thousands of pictures are uploaded in dizzying fashion but a gallery of just 22 images made people stop and take notice of a love story. taylor and danielle became sweet hearts in high school, and shortly after graduating in 2007, taylor joined the navy. last may in afghanistan, a routine mission to clear explosive devices, turned tragic. >> i went right over something that didn't go off, didn't register on the detector at all and exploded basically. >> taylor had stepped on an improvised explosive device. >> i knew my legs were gone and at that time i had my left hand on there and knew my right arm was gone. >> when danielle heard the news from an official, she was distraught. >> i was actually on the way to work with my friend, and i think i just like dropped the phone and screamed and couldn't hear

anything else and then he said it again. he said he lost both legs, and we think both arms as of now. >> but taylor's story is one of survival and love, thanks in large part to danielle who has been with him every step of the way throughout his recovery. their unbreakable bond was recently documented as a touching photo blog on buzzfeed titled "a love story in 22 pictures." >> keep going. >> as danielle helps taylor through rehab -- >> taylor morris and danielle kelly are now with us exclusively. good to see you both. how you doing? >> good. >> you made the trip up from walter read over the weekend. how you doing? >> it was awesome, great time, great weather, couldn't ask for more. >> about two weeks ago someone sent me a link for something on the internet and said you've got to watch this. i went online, home alone at the time because it just kind of -- it took my breath away, and it was these 22 images of your love

story. you didn't put it online in that form. how did this happen? >> right. it was a guy down in texas, and i guess he had been reading the site, keeping up on the web page. >> the web page to keep your family and friends posted on your recovery. >> when everything happened we started a web page so we wouldn't have to text and e-mail and call, you know, the grandparents, aunts and uncles, all the friends and family, just to keep them informed. it was like a day-to-day updated thing, sometimes twice a day, and so we started that, and we had all of our pictures, all of our videos, and so i guess he -- he followed the story, and he took some of those pictures, and he put them together. >> no relationship can be captured in 22 photos, but something about these 22 photos and the progression of them, danielle. at some point you almost feel like you want to turn away, and then at other points you know you can't turn away. what was your reaction when you saw them? >> well, actually we were out

grocery shopping and got a few texts from a few different people and they have said, you know, you're on this website, go check it out and we're like okay, we'll check it out when we got home. >> hadn't heard of the website. >> we hadn't heard and kept grocery shopping and another friend would say it's up to "x" amount of views and now it's up to this. i don't know, we went home and we, i guess, surprised that so many people thought it was that -- i don't know. >> it's deeply personal. these images from the very first images of this young love to what you went through in afghanistan and recovery to now is very personal. any regrets that it's out there? >> no, not at all. i wouldn't say that it's too personal to share. if anything, it's been great that we never wanted to -- to, you know, do all the interviews and, you know, all the cameras and everything like that, but we just started getting so many letters from different people that works you know, mail us

letters in the mail, write us e-mails and tell us how much they were inspired and just like them telling, you know, what it has done for them personally has made us, you know, kind of want to share the story. >> it was anyone from there was a 7-year-old kid who got a traumatic brain injury who thinks that taylor is superman and wants too-to-continue in his facility, to people in the workout facility with taylor and people who have given up on love and said they didn't know they had a bad relationship and completely gave up ton. >> a couple of the images that jumped out to me, piggyback getting a lot of attention. there's one where you're giving taylor a piggyback ride down some steps from an airplane and another -- i think there's another piggyback that's actually one of your favorites, is that correct? >> it was us going up the stairs, and a lot of people said it was their favorite. i guess i -- i think my favorite is the one on the beach actually, of taylor and i, both

look at water. that's about five blocks from our place in virginia beach, so it was nice >> i like the one when you're at a friend's wedding and you shared a dance. when i watched the progression of these photos, that's the one where i looked and said this is a future here, this is a bright future. tell me about that moment. >> it was fun, i mean, it was a wedding with all of our friends and kind of like one of the first of our high school friends getting married, so everybody was back in town, and just rocking out on the dance floors, you know. >> i -- i see in these photos incredible strength on your part, but i also see incredible strength on your part. >> absolutely. >> what have you learned about her? >> what have i learned about her? >> definitely we were close before, but, i mean, we pretty much share everything in the sense that, you know -- >> any form of privacy, anything. >> yeah. >> i don't know. i think that both of us, what we like about this whole situation

is that we both haven't changed. we're both like who we are. >> i know. she's a wonderful caretaker. she always did home health care and she was -- you know, worked at the nursing home and stuff and she's absolutely totally comfortable in that setting, you know, i mean, and willing to give me a piggyback ride up the stairs when i need it. >> and love for all the right reasons, that's great. high school sweet hearts. these photos, as i said, stopped me in my tracks. >> nice to meet you. thanks for coming in. >> thank you. >> it's 7:48. we're back right after this. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens,

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more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, owens corning ecotouch attik insulation is only $11.87 a roll. we are back with the moment you've all been waiting for. "ask away today." >> you submitted questions, the producers narrowed down the field and the four of us have no idea what's coming. al? >> what? >> grab questions. >> grab some questions. >> these are the questions. al is wearing protective eye gear because you never know when one of these is going to blind you. >> turn off the machine. >> do i get out or do i have to -- >> now we're going to turn off the blowers. >> this is going well. >> so al. >> yes. >> come on out and "ask away today." >> all right then. >> here we go. >> all right.

first question. savannah, did you play basketball or volleyball in high school or college? you really have the appropriate height for those sports from peter in san antonio. >> hi, peter. no i did not. played tennis a little bit but nothing anything that height was an advantage for. i'm not much of an athlete. >> you're a good athlete. >> pretty good. >> good tennis player. >> tennis. >> okay. >> all right. this one, okay, for any of us. who eats all the food prepared in the cooking segments? this is from mary ann in california. >> we all do. >> as do all of these guys. >> the crew probably descends on it more than anyone else does. >> mark trout says yes. >> we've seen none of these questions. they were on the porch of funk and wagonalls. what tv show do you miss most, not on tv now?

>> give me "the love boat." >> "carol burnett." >> "the a-team." >> "cheers". >> and i definitely miss field. >> they are on today. >> savannah, another question for you. >> okay. >> from chris rafferty. >> did you play hockey -- >> football? >> do you and the other anchors hang out with each other after workouts? >> sometimes we do. natalie and i are planning to play tennis soon. we've had lunch. we hang out. >> a real opportunity to bond. >> got more "ask away today" tomorrow. >> so sends your questions in. i. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain.

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7:56 is your time now on this monday, september 24th, 2012. good morning to you. preliminary test results are expected today that could show why a giant panda cub die at the naonal zoo. the cub was just 6 days old. zookeepers realized something was wrong around 9:15 yesterday morning. panda cam watchers heard the mom let out a honking sound that sounded like a distress call. now veronica johnson with your weather headlines. chilly this morning. >> that it is. temperatures rising slowly. still in the mid-40s up there in frederick county. also, montgomery county and howard county. even around charles county. 46, the current reading. 57 now in d.c. later today, we'll get into the mid-60s i think by the noon hour. 70 degrees, your high for today. a lot of sunshine. coolest day out the workweek.

warmest will be wednesday when rain comes in late.

traveling

♪ we're back now. 8:00 on a monday morning. it's the 24th day of september, 2012. these are some of the eye-catching looks that were part of last night's primetime emmy awards, and coming up ryan seacrest will wrap up some of the red carpet action for us when he joins us. pretty cool stuff. and we'll look at fashions as well. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie and al roker. >> also ahead. we remember kerri walsh jennings

and misty may-treanor winning their third straight medal at the olympics and an announcement about her future and may not be what you expect. coming up with her in a few minutes. >> and this lady is an american icon. two words. carol burnett. she is one of the funniest people on the planet. her variety show, an american classic. carol has now picked her favorite moments for a new collection. i can't imagine how you pick those out of just every -- just amazing comedy gems. >> you know what's fun, look back at them, a, the comedy stands up and, b, it brings back such great memories of watching that show years ago. >> and the "entourage" she had with her, harvey korman, tim conway, lionel wagoner and viciy lawren lawrence. >> she came in with an endurage. >> probably not that group. >> natalie standing by with the headlines.

the obama campaign has launched a new ad pouncing on mitt romney's secretly recorded comments about the 47% of americans who he said pay no income tax. the ad says that instead of attacking others on taxes, romney should, quote, come clean on his. meantime, romney campaigning in colorado today accused the president of consistently distorting his positions. romney said the upcoming debates will put an end to that. researchers say they have identified four genetically distinct major classes of breast cancer. the findings published in the journal "nature" could lead to more effective treatments, including some using drugs already approved for other types of cancer. work has been suspended at a plant in china that makes apple devices and components after a dormitory riot sunday by 2,000 workers. taiwanese-owned foxconn would not say if the plant was involved in making the new iphone 5. it blamed the riot on a personal dispute between several employees that then escalated.

the epa is conducting a criminal investigation of the chevron refinery in richmond, california. inspectors reportedly found that pollutants were being rerouted around monitoring equipment so they could be burned off into the atmosphere. chevron is cooperating with the probe. the investigation is not related to a fire at the plant there last month. for a look at what's trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. jimmy kimmel pulled a monster prank while hosting the emmy awards last night. he told viewers to tweet that comic tracy morgan had passed out and then he had morgan lie down and play dead. >> go at home and go on facebook or twitter right now and here's what i want you to post. post oh, my god, tracy morgan just passed out on stage, and just lie there, i don't know, for about ten minutes or so. >> okay. >> and when people tune in and they will see this on the stage. >> wonderful. let's do it. >> and it worked. 25,000 people tweeted the message instantly.

soon after, omg tracy morgan became a worldwide trending topic. greenday apologized on facebook sunday and announced front man billie joe armstrong is seeking treatment for substance abuse, this following a profanity-filled meltdown on stage in las vegas on friday. armstrong reportedly felt he was being pressured to cut his appearance short, but a greenday rep said the band played its full set. fending off imperial storm troopers is easing compared to soothing a crying baby but john williams "star wars" theme song is just the thing for this guy. take a listen. ♪ the by's dad said he discovered the song's soothing effect by accident while he was driving with the crying 4-month-old. works on me, too. it is 8:04 right now. let's go back outside with al with a check of the weather. >> i wonder if he said luke, i

am your father. these are not the babies you're looking for. all the folks have come with a bucket list. the first one actually wearing the bucket. that's pretty good. what's your name? >> wanda. >> wanda, where are you from? >> arizona. >> that's very good. do you normally wear that, or is this just for today? >> just for today? hey. wanda, we got a cleanup on aisle five. all right. let's see what we got for you. pick city, houston, texas. mostly sunny and hot. 92 degrees. we got some wet weather down there in miami. we're looking for some showers making their way through the plain states. and we've got more sunshine for

today up and down the eastern seaboard. look for some wet weather making its way through the rockies. and plenty of sunshine in the pacific northwest. wow, it's catching. >> oh, you made my bucket list! >> here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> right here, it's a bright enough start but, boy, is it chilly out there. storm team 4 meteorologist veronica johnson here. 57 right now at the airport. wind fairly light out of northwest at 6 miles per hour. throughout our area now, temperatures range from tacoma park at 57 to areas like olney at 46. tomorrow's high is 76. rain late wednesday. out early thursday. and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al. thank you very much. when we come back, a red carpet fashion rap-up from our friend ryan seacrest, but first, these messages. rewards credit card,

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. back now at 8 rts:10. television's biggest stars were out in force at last night's emmys. who shined the brightest on the red carpet. here's today today's special correspondent ryan seacrest >> reporter: temperature on the

emmy's red carpet was a scorching 100 degrees. >> i am sweating. i am melting. >> reporter: but the fashion was even hotter. ♪ you don't know you're beautiful ♪ ♪ you saw what i can see >> reporter: at the 64th annual primetime emmy awards the carpet might have been red but it looked mostly orange. the trendy color was the choice for "top chef" host padmi lakshmi in a strapless gown. cat jennings turned heads with her low-cut red dress by jay mandell and gin i ever goodwin was crowned a favorite by designer monique lhuillier. >> i'd prefer to be in an ice bath. >> reporter: every shade of blue on sunday night. heidi klum's seafoam colored gown was plunging in the back and in the front. >> i love the color. i love the cut. i love the slit. i like a high slit.

>> reporter: hayden panettiere wore blue and gold marchesa and zooey deschanel. then there was sfag rah sexy and sparkling in turquoise. black and white gowns are always safe choices, but this year's red carpet was bursting with every color imaginable. >> didn't need any tweaking, and it's very bum friendly. >> reporter: expectant mother claire danes worn yellow and so did demi moore. lucy liu showed up wearing a metal dress that had a metal malfunction. >> my dress caught caught on lucy liu's dress. >> reporter: juliana margolies was pretty in floral and others like carrie washington sparkled. as newcomer leona dunn hamm made

her first appearance, mainstays didn't disappoint. for "today" ryan seacrest, nbc news, los angeles. >> the host of "us weekly's" "watch with us" and jason is an "e news correspondent." >> you put ginnifer goodwin as number one. >> i did. she looks like a bouquet of rose buds and i really loved how she played off of her hairch her hair went with the entire outfit. honestly with a dress like that, you can't go overboard, and her hail and accessories nailed it. >> is that orange or red? >> actually more of a mandarin. >> i love mandarin. >> jason told you to say that. what about january jones, some thought this was a little controversial. >> i'm throwing this out to my twitter sphere. all my phones voted that this was absolutely a piece of work. it's a couture dress. for anybody who loves fashion, there's a difference between

something that's like red carpet ready, but then there's also couture. couture is an artistic piece and january jones did it well. >> i think it's beautiful. why did not people like it? >> didn't get the architecture, why it looked wiry. >> heidi klum looked amazing. >> hello. the ventilation because it was hot out there on the red carpet. >> is what that what you're here for? >> sorry. i'll shot up negotiate. >> red the script right. what we set up for here. you're right. 100 degrees. effervescent, refreshing, mint is the color of the season. got mint in her socks. >> thank you. >> fashion forward. beautiful, sexy and sizzling. >> a couple of misses in your book, elizabeth moss was one of them. >> yes. elizabeth moss dressed like she looked like moss growing, like on someone's couch. >> you don't like the structure? >> overly ruffly. you don't need the peplem on the

bust line. >> glenn close. >> i like her, but it just didn't embody her lady-like features. dated her and looked old, and the pattern was too loud for her shape. >> okay. jason didn't yell hello >> i didn't. i'm being kwai >> this is the dude meter. really does work. >> we have you here to talk about the show. the first question is how did jimmy kimmel do? >> i think jimmy kimmel killed t.basically started out on the bathroom floor, you know, because he had too much botox and all the nominees, there they are, trying to get him to come out on stage. he said during the show he would pull off a massive bring with fans helping him and brings on tom brady morgan in the middle of the show. pretend that you passed out on the stage. urged viewers to tweet tracy morgan passed out. tune into abc right now. >> and people did do it. >> a worldwide trending topic on twitter, and people watched the show, genius. >> wonder if we'll see a spike in ratings at that moment.

your surprise moment going to what, jon cryer? >> had to be jon cryer, the first time he was in this category. normally he's a supporting actor nominee. before the show on the red carpet he was saying, look, i'm not going to win this. not being humble. honestly felt he was not going to win. >> you could see the emotion. >> when he got up there on the stage, something's wrong, something's gone awry. he didn't expect this at all. >> "homeland" won very big in a lot of different categories. >> freshman series, six emmy wins. i thought outstanding drama series would go to "mad men," usually take it. lead actor and actress in a series. "mad men," 0 for 17, ouch. >> they win almost every other year but just the odds, you would think they would have won something. >> you would think, but not the case this time around. >> okay. what do you think was one of the funnier moments? >> i loved julia louis-dreyfus, not a shock that she won, third emmy win and 13th nomination.

>> the skit. >> not the normal thank-you speech. pretends she's reading amy poehler's acceptance speech so they switch. there's the awkward moment. switch notes, running over to the stage. >> but then i'm thinking did she know she would win, did they plan and execute? >> i think people knew she would win. amy said let's do this bit or vice versa but pulled it off brilliantly. >> you love seeing the camaraderie between comedic actresses like that, love seeing the friendly -- the friendly organization of something fun together. >> not just the plain speech. >> definitely. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. see you next year, request not before. coming up next, three-time olympic gold medalist kerri walsh jennings with some pretty exciting news to share, right after this. i love you, james. don't you love me? i'm a robot. i know. i know you're a robot! but there's more in you than just circuits and wires!

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♪ we're back now at 8:21 with one of the stars of the london olympics kerri walsh jennings who captured gold again with her partner misty may-treanor. she's here this morning to make an announcement but first a look back at her amazing career. ♪ >> misty and kerri, threepeat, olympic gold. >> the volleyball team won gold at the last three summer olympics, the first duo in sports to accomplish that feat. >> you thought london would be the best yet. does it figure out that way?

>> played the toughest competition in the world, and we've withstood every single challenge, and to come out on top. >> between victories at the beijing and london games kerri and her husband casey jennings, also a beach volleyball pro became parents, first nine months after the beijing games, son joey arrived. >> i don't want to get too much into this business but this first business is a little bit of a gold medal baby. >> he is, not literally because he came right after. made in china. >> made in china. >> that's what i was getting at. >> and one year later kerri had another son who the couple named sundance. her whole family was there to celebrate with her in london. kerri walsh jennings and casey jennings are here with us this morning. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> so i was lucky enough to go see a couple of your matches. saw you against the chinese women and then i saw you win gold against the american team, and so what i'm realizing now is

as i was watching you diving around in the sand in your bikini, kerri, there was something we didn't know. what was it? >> well, matt, yeah, you know, about a month and a half ago we -- we did something great in london, you were able to share it with us. felt so much love from our nbc family and everyone at home so casey and i wanted to come on here with you guys today and share some other news that when i was throwing my body around fearlessly and going for gold for our country is was pregnant and today i'm 11 -- 11 weeks pregnant and feeling pregnant. >> i knew it. it wasn't something you found out afterwards you? knew you were pregnant while were you competing? >> you know, not to get too detailed, but i'm like clockwork, and -- and i'm a pretty happy girl and i was unreasonably moody. >> not unreasonably. >> smart answer.

>> she was cranky but she was okay. she needed to be. >> yeah. i thought i was -- i thought it could have been like the stress of the games and travel kind of throws your schedule off a little bit, but, you know. i knew, and at some point, you know, you relate and then you start feeling something, and i definitely started feeling something in london >> i mean, the physical part of it, by the way, were you having any morning sickness there? >> not yet. >> that came later. >> for the first time, my third pregnancy, is the first time i'm experiencing morning sickness, and it's driving me crazy. it stinks. >> well, you know, i guess to go to the personal side again, you know the olympics are coming up. did you not have a discussion like, hey, casey, i have a headache, keep your hands off me. we've got kind of an important moment coming up. >> that only lasts so long. you know, i was under the impression that it was going --

i just felt like it would take me a while this time, take me a while to get pregnant for some reason so a month before we were like should we start trying and i had never experienced morning sickness so we were in switzerland, one of our favorite places of the world, and we decided to get going on the process. >> and now i'm blushing. >> apparently i'm very fertile. >> casey and kerri, let me end with you. >> sorry. >> you already have two sons. have you heard of the television show "my three sons?" >> no. >> you looking for a boy or a girl? >> you know, i'll take either, but we have -- we have a strong feeling that it's a little girl, but who knows. i don't mind either way. i'm happy with a healthy baby, like they say, but truly the two boys have been such a blessing. to have either one would be okay. >> he's one of five boys. >> congratulations to both of you. come see us soon.

>> thank you, guys. >> take care. >> congratulations. breaking news at 8:26. an accident along georgia avenue causing big delays inner in the d.c. your first 4 traffic report. >> the location, georgia avenue and iowa. you can see police are on the scene blocking all of your lanes in both directions. 13th street will be your better bet to travel. as aaron said, traveling georgia avenue, all lanes are blocked. let's head over to sixth street northwest at e street, accident there involves a pedestrian s

most folks walking in saying "it's cold outside." as you look out, those cool nights will give us a little more fall color over the next couple of weeks. we were at 57 degrees now. other locations throughout the area, aspen hill in damascus,

48. your high temperature today, 70 degrees with lots of sunshine. 76, a little warmer, tomorrow. some rain into late wednesday. aaron.

it's 8:30 on a monday morning, september 24th, 2012. it's a pretty day here in the northeast. hopefully it's nice where you're waking up as well. take a look at some of the nice people gathered on our plaza. we're out on the plaza as well. i'm matt lauer along with al roker and natalie morales. savannah has made her way over to nbc's education nation summit

being held here at the public library. savannah, what's going on? >> hey, matt. well, things kicked off here on sunday, and this morning jenna bush hager takes a look at program that brings parent mentors into the classroom, and it's paying off in a big way. we'll also talk about the challenges facing our schools with a rising star in the democratic party, san antonio mayor julian castro, and by the way, tomorrow we'll have an interview with president obama on the state of education in this country, and i also ask him how he was as a student. got an interesting answer. matt, back to you for now. >> all right, savannah. see you in a couple minutes. also ahead, a comedy icon is in our studio right now. we're talking about carol burnett. for years her show, "the carol burnett show," just made people all across the country laugh. now she's chosen the funniest moments from the years of that show, and she's going to share some of them with us in just a couple of minutes. >> all right. and then a little bit later on fitness expert laila ali,

daughter of the champ and fitness expert and as a new mom she talks about the five strategies to help women get back and get rid of their baby weight. >> all right. first we'd like to say hello to oscar nominee viola davis starring in a brand new movie. >> hi, viola. >> she's a teacher who decides to stand up for her students in "won't back down." so good to see you. >> good seeing you, too sgledcation is so important to you. this must have been a perfect fit when this script came across your desk. >> it was perfect. it was close to my heard because i grew up in such challenging circumstances, in abject poverty, and education is what saved my life, it was, you know. it opened the door to possibilities and choice in my life, so -- and also just a great story, you know. people forget that i'm an actor at the end of the day. really i like the role. >> interesting. not often that we have an actor and actress here and we talk about a movie opening and say

yet there were protests. >> yes. >> and there were at the premiere of this movie. some feel it's a bit one-sided, one-dimensional and maybe unfair to some teachers. how do you feel about that? >> well, i feel two things. i welcome protest. i welcome discourse. i think discourse is a good thing. i think it spearheads change. i think that we saw that in the '60s. that's why we enjoy some of the privileges that we do today. and you know what? in this movie the teacher at the end of the day is the hero. they saved the day. >> and we're talking about education which is something we don't normally do. >> absolutely, and it's a system that's broken, that needs to be fixed. >> it's a great film. >> as you do in all your roles, you do it so well. viola davis, great to have you here. >> such passion. >> really appreciate it. >> the movie "won't back down" in theaters now. >> mr. roque arer, how about a check of the weather. >> let's show you what we've got. gorgeous weather up and down the east coast. winnie around the great lakes.

smokey conditions thanks to the fires out west. showers in the central rockies. then for tomorrow we expect to see plenty of sunshine up and down the east coast. sunny and warm. a little windier and air conditioning is aut west. and we've got rain through the mid-mississippi and ohio river valleyings. that's what's going on around the country. here's your neck of the woods. >> right here, today, it's screaming fall. a little on the nippy side. it is chilly. 57 degrees. other locations like springfield right now are sitting in the upper 40s. upper 40s too to the north. today's high temperature, 70 degrees. we're warmer tomorrow at 76. 82 on wednesday with rain coming in late. the w and that's your latest weather. >> all right. >> thanks, mr. roker. >> still to come this morning, we'll go back to new york's public library where savannah is talking about education nation

right after this. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

on education nation today, solutions that work. we've made our way to the nbc summit at the new york public library and today contributing correspondent jenna bush hager is here with a program that's not only helping students but an entire community. good morning. >> good morning, savannah, that's right. the problem how to build a bridge from home to school in know-lock families. many are immigrants isolated by culture and the solution, building trust between parents and educators. graduation day at the james

monroe elementary school. diplomas are being handed out to 300 parents, from 28 public schools in chicago. ♪ although some are still learning english. >> no speak english. >> they completed a year working alongside teachers in the classroom as parent mentors. logan square in northwest chicago is a mostly hispanic neighborhood, where 96% of the families are low income. and unlike suburban parents, urban immigrants are somewhat reluctant to volunteer in schools. >> i was like i don't think i can help these kids because i'm not a teacher. >> reporter: in 1995 the logan square neighborhood association convinced schools to let parents assist in the classroom. >> what used to be called a fortress environment where the walls around and the moat around the school, it's broken barriers on both sides. >> reporter: former parent mentor laticia ber ra iia barre

program coordinator. >> building a relationship is huge. i didn't realize. >> reporter: children who need extra help get the attention they need. >> i have 31 students this year, and they do have a range of needs, so having that extra help allows me to reach each of the children who might need more support than others. >> reporter: maya jimenez may be a bit camera shy, but she shines in the classroom. >> she's a good teacher. >> she is like a mom, our second mom. she helps us write something that we don't know. >> i like him. >> reporter: monroe principal edwin rivera says the program's impact goes way beyond raising test scores. >> we see that the bond between parent mentors and student, it's like sometimes i go to nao classrooms, and you can't tell who the teacher is because the parent mentor is as involved as the teacher. >> reporter: other chicago schools adopted the model. more than 2,000 parents have completed the program.

the program inspired graduation speaker patricia lopez to pursue her own education. >> i understood that i have what they show, and i -- i discovered that i have the passion to teach. >> when we educate parents, we educate the community. >> reporter: one program improving schools, bridging communities and changing lives. and a recent study shows test scores have doubled over the past nine years in schools with parent mentors. as a teacher myself who spent time teaching in urban schools, can i validate how important it is to have parents involved in their schools, in their students' academic success. >> we want to talk to you about that. we want to introduce you to mayor julian cass have to of san antonio. >> great to be here. >> let's talk about your time as a teacher. did you really see a difference with student achievement when the parents were involved? >> i taught third grade in inner

city d.c., mainly a hispanic neighborhood, and my students whose parents were involved, who read to them when they were little, and came into my classroom for parent-teacher conferences were on average a year and a half above grade level. >> mr. mayor, we remember your convention speech at the democratic national convention. you talked about your grandmother and how invested she was and your mom as well. >> sure. >> in your education. is there a barrier in this community sometimes to have parents come in and work with the schools, as we saw in the piece? >> a lot of times, you know, families don't know where to start, and they feel like the teachers are the experts, so let's go ahead and, you know, take the kids to school and the experts will take care of it, and the great thing about the piece and what's happening more and more in schools is that schools are now embracing parents more, creating family rooms or parent rooms within schools, starting initiatives where parents speak with parents and mentor them so that they can get involved. it's that empowerment of parents to actually, you know, don't

just think that the teachers in the schools are the experts. also read to your child and be involved so that program in chicago is a great model for other communities to follow. >> i know you're a believer in public schools. you're a product of public schools. your daughter is in a public school and your wife is a teacher. >> she is. >> if you had a magic wand and could make any change overnight, what would you do? >> what we're doing in san antonio, we actually have a ballot initiative right now to start early to significantly invest in pre-k education. so important. the research shows that the greatest return on investment is if you get kids in at 3, 4 years old, and so i'd like to see a shift in emphasis or a greater amount of resource funding and emphasis in the entire education ecosystem on early childhood education. >> get them early, it makes a real difference. >> certainly does. >> mayor julian castro, jenna bush hager, thank you so much. >> we'll continue our conversation here here at education nation.

if you want information on programs that work, head to educationnation.com/casestudies. we'll have a bit more from here in a moment. but up next from studio 1a comedy legend carol burnett. but first, this is "toda

we're back now at 8:45 with the legendary carol burnett. her beloved "carol burnett show" debuted in 1967, ran for 11 years, and get this, won 25 emmy awards. now a new dvd box collection is highlighting some of carol's favorite episodes. take a look. [ tarzan call ] >> from her signature tarzan yell, to her way with an entrance. >> how come you never made it in talking pictures? >> i don't know. >> carol burnett won the hearts and funny bones of america with her long-running variety show "the carol burnett show."

the acclaimed series featured a talented cast. ♪ education nation >> special guest stars. >> finally good to see you with your clothes on and burnett's own unforgettable characters. >> your little baby daughter is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. >> establishing her as one of hollywood's greatest comedic talents, and carol burnett joins us live in the studio. carol, great to see you. >> thank you. >> how you doing? >> i'm doing great. >> 11 years. how do you sit down and come up with your favorites? i mean, you could have put all those 11 years in. >> thank you. i have a good memory, and so are some shows that aren't all wonderful, but there might be two or three segments in it that stand out that i remembered. >> were you a good judge of what was funny before it got on the air? in other words, when you saw things on a piece of paper, did you say the audience is going to love that, or was it based on what happened? >> it really -- most of the time based on what happened.

i remember 100 years ago when i was on "the gary moore show." we had a guest. he was ed wynn. >> absolutely. >> vaudevillian. >> exactly. >> brilliant comedian, and we were all asking, we were asking him about comedy and so forth, and he said there's a difference between a comic and a comedian. >> what? >> he said a comic says funny things and a comedian says things funny. >> that's a good distinction. >> in other words, bob hope was a comic. jack benny was a comedian. he said things funny. >> one of the things that i used to love watching the show, and i know i will when i see these highlights, is harvey korman, for example. when you would get in a sketch with him, so often you two would crack each other up. not part of the script, it would just happen. >> no, actually, it was tim conway, his goal in life was to destroy harvey. >> did he have a trigger? in other words, was there something you or tim could do

that you knew would get harvey korman to laugh? >> i didn't get him to laugh that much but tim did. what would happen is we would do two shows on a friday, and tim would do the show to the ink, you know, just as we rehearsed it, and then we'd tape it, and the director would get all the shots, and then tim would say, okay, now i'm gonna have some fun, and he would get on a roll and harvey never knew -- finally it got to be, whenever there was a tim and harvey sketch, all tim would have to do is look at harvey and go -- >> that little raised eyebrow. >> and harvey would go, and harvey was so ticked off at himself because he was a consummate actor. >> most of it was so wholesome, and i was thinking knowing i was going to have you on this morning, a lot of comedy these days is pretty raunchy. >> yeah. >> and it cuts way across the line. do you appreciate it? >> no. >> no? >> i don't appreciate it. >> does it make you laugh?

>> if it's within a character. if it's the character talking that way and that comes out of the character, then i -- i'll go with it, but if it's just gratuitous blue material, that's the easiest way to get a laugh. >> do you think anybody out there is doing the kind of physical comedy that you used to do? >> physical, i don't know of anyone that does that. my neck still talks to me today. >> yeah. >> you used to end your show all the time, used to do a little tug, and that was for your grandmother. >> yeah. >> i don't think there's a better way that we could end this segment. it was that or the tarzan call, and i decided to go with the ear tug. >> oh, okay. >> always nice. >> thanks. >> love having you here. >> thank you, matt. >> please stop by more often. >> we will. >> and you're going to stick around to help out on "take 3" in a couple moments, but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] for the dreamers...

and those well grounded. for what's around this corner...

and the next. there's cash flow options from pnc. solutions to help businesses like yours accelerate receivables, manage payments, and help ensure access to credit. because we know how important cash flow is to reaching your goals. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. back now at 8:51. in requested today's american story with bob dotson," comes from a place where 70 miles is not an hour but three days. bob is here to explain. >> good morning, everyone. on a dusty road i came by a woman who was traveling so slyy will she could see the rows between the corn, and she was a retired schoolteacher who has learned a lot about us.

>> just look at that. that's just spectacular. >> bernice ende set out seven years ago to see america at four miles an hour. >> you know, those peaks up there, it's like, come on, see if you can come up here, and i would go to the next one and i'd want to go to the next one. >> 18,000 miles, so far. if you flew from the north pole to the south pole and back to the equator, that's about 18,000 miles. >> easy. easy. >> our paths crossed just north of glacier national park in canada. >> okay, let's go. >> a beautiful place like this would be on anybody's bucket list, but bernice prefers the journey, not the destination. she was born on a minnesota dairy farm, taught ballet, and when she retired decided the only rocking in her future would be in a saddle. >> okay, claire, you ready. >> she's breaking in a new horse

this fall, her fifth. >> how are you doing back there, claire, okay? her dog found nearly frozen in a ditch, has been with her the entire way. the two set out on this long ride in 2005. they have been looping around the country ever since. >> you can't do this without having the faith in others. >> they help her find her way. >> can i go down this instead of going around this way? >> but she rarely accepts invitations to spend the night in their homes. when was the last time you slept indoors? >> i don't know. four months ago. >> during a flood. what was your scariest moment? >> a black stallion tried to steal my mare and tried to kill me. >> tessie, be careful. >> you're always right on the edge. you're riding that wave of uncertainty. it demands that i be bold.

it demands that i have skill and attentiveness and caution t.demands that, or i'd be dead. >> most people who wander off on quests finish them and then dine out on what they did the rest of their lives. but bernice just keeps going. >> i don't go home. i'm home. everywhere i go i'm home. you need more? >> such freedom is hard work. >> how thirsty can one horse get? >> animals need to be fed, brushed. shoed and bandaged. repairs and camp chores take -- >> four hours a day. >> bernice was divorced and in her 50s when she started this long ride. no kids. >> i just didn't want to go home and be alone anymore. >> spirit, come on. >> so she left to find another kind of family. >> don't we have children that know how to hold horses? >> i do. >> oh, very good, here. you take care of this horse, would you? >> it's an in-your-face kind of life, no cell phone, no

computer, just neighbors she's never met. >> oh, look who is coming. >> they ride into smiles. do people turn you away? >> never, and the kindness that i have experienced is nothing short of phenomenal! >> folks help her find firewood, food and a place to camp every day. >> you ride in a stranger, but in just minutes you're friends. >> oh, my goodness, nice to meet you. nice to meet you. >> i wish you could just come and see what i see. you would think so differently about our country. >> a place where good and generous people still pull together to sustain this remarkable journey. >> i've got thousands of spirits in my saddle riding with me, thousands. happy trails. >> for "today," bob dotson, nbc news with "an american story" from the slow lane. >> bernice will soon head east to watch the leaves fill with color and figures she will

arrive here next fall. >> tell her to stop by and come visit her. we want to meet her. >> it's fascinating because she didn't watch this story. >> i had about to put a gps in her saddlebag to track her because she doesn't carry a cell phone. not even in a cell phone area. >> wow, great story. got to bump into more people like that. >> i try. >> just ahead, the secret germs lurking in your child's school. >> and all the highlights from last 8:56 is your time now on this monday, september 24th. good morning. preliminary test results are expected today that could show why a giant panda cub died at the national zoo. cub was just 6 days old. the zoo is holding a news conference at 10:00 and you can watch it live on our website nbcwashington.com. let's check the forecast.

veronica johnson. >> it's the bottom of september. but it already feels like october outside. 61, your temperature. other areas north and wemst of town in the 50s. the high today, 70 degrees. we'll get a little warmer tomorrow at 76. 82 on wednesday with rain coming in late wednesday nig

northwest, earlier crash, iowa avenue, was blocking your lanes. travel lanes are now open. you're dealing with a slow commute, inner loop from the belt way. slow to the dulles toll road. >> anoth